In April 2013 Firefox released a new version, v20. Using OpenClinica with this version is not possible, because for example filtering in the SubjectMatrix is not available; the little green "page-buttons" in the matrix do not function; a CRF with status DataEntryStarted can not be opened again, etc.

The main cause of this malfunctioning is a so called library with javascript-functions: prototype.js This library dates from (at least) 2007 and was a competitor of jquery. Prototype is (probably) included for some "special effects" and is called by at least one other library: scriptaculous.js

In the prototype.js several functions are defined, based on the DOM-properties and methods. At least one of these has been deprecated by FireFox v20 and that is the reason of the malfunctioning.

A library like prototype.js is by nature nothing more than a big text-file with java-script (hence the suffix). It is located in \tomcat\webapps\OpenClinica\includes. To fix the problem you can go to http://prototypejs.org/download/ and download the latest version (currently 1.7.1) and save it under prototype171.js. Then stop tomcat, go to the directory described above, rename prototype.js to prototype151.js, copy prototype171.js as prototype.js. Start tomcat again, empty the cache of FireFox and you're in bussiness again.

But unfortunately, you're not done yet, because now InternetExplorer refuses to work properly. Another conflict is at the heart of this matter. We must upgrade jquery from 1.3.2 to 1.9.1.

While we're at it, we might as well upgrade blockUI to jquery.blockUI.2.59.js.

The best advice is: do not fix your production OpenClinica. Wait until an official release comes out. This will have been tested thoroughly by OpenClinica and you will have (some) certainty about the reliability. Instruct your users not to use FF for the time being, but stick to InternetExplorer.

However you can make the change in your developement environment and see if everything goes OK.

To avoid these issues OpenClinica recommend that you do not update to Firefox 20. Many people may have Firefox set to update automatically by default, but you can change these settings by opening Firefox and going to "Tools" > "Options" > "Advanced" > "Update" and selecting either "Check for updates, but let me choose whether to install them" or "Never check for updates."

And once you have made that change, you can use Chrome and Safari! Yes, indeed: it was there all the time, but hampered by a library. Now you can use your favorite browser (at least my favorite browser).

Does this mean you can also run OC on the iPad? Well, not quite. We gave it a quick rundown and most of the interface works, with one big exception: the yellow notes in the SubjectMatrix. If you can live with that and schedule your Events using the menu or via View Subject, than you can OC on your iPad. Cute.